Western Australia WA is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a land area of 2,, square kilometres , sq mi , [ 5 ] and is also the second-largest subdivision of any country on Earth, surpassed only by the Sakha Republic in eastern Russia, and formerly Northwest Territories in Canada, before the creation of Nunavut.
It is also the largest proper subnational entity, being a state rather than a territory or an autonomous region. Western Australia has a diverse range of climates, including tropical conditions in the Kimberley , deserts in the interior including the Great Sandy Desert , Little Sandy Desert , Gibson Desert , and Great Victoria Desert and a Mediterranean climate on the south-west and southern coastal areas.
As of June , [update] the state has 2. The Trans-Australian Railway and the Eyre Highway traverse the Nullarbor Plain in the state's south-east, providing the principal connection between Western Australia and the population centres in the eastern states. Western Australia's Indigenous peoples have been present for tens of thousands of years. Dutch explorers visited Western Australia from the 17th century, with Dirk Hartog 's expedition the first Europeans to make landfall.
The Western Australian gold rushes of the late 19th century resulted in a significant population influx. The colony was granted responsible government in , the last of the Australian colonies to become self-governing, and federated with the other colonies in Western Australia's mining sector is a key driver of the state economy. The late 20th century saw the development of the state's significant iron ore mining industry β the world's largest β as well as primarily offshore petroleum and natural gas resources.
Gold mining retains a significant presence and many other mineral commodities are mined, with Perth being a major centre for associated services. Outside of mining, primary industry is the other significant contributor to the state's economy, including agriculture in the Wheatbelt and temperate southern coastal regions, pastoralism in marginal grassland areas, forestry in the south-west and fishing including pearling and, historically, whaling.
